"IS ANYBODY PAYING ATTENTION?" The mindful view of an educated Buddhist blogger who uses critical thinking, evidence, facts, and investigation to come up with his opinions instead of fear based ideologies.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

"Right now there are several Democratic candidates that are waging war on Republican governors in what promises to be a heated race in 2014. Nothing Republicans in congress, especially the House of Representatives, that were the actions they bragged about accomplishing when running, have been voted on at all. They promised Jobs programs, instead the president finally came up with his own, so they voted against it BECAUSE THEY JUST DON'T CARE.

They bragged about and still mouth the words "Immigration Reform" knowing full well their main contributing and voting base, the Tea Party, bought and paid for (despite all parties publicly denying any involvement) by Freedom Works, which, like the supposed "think Tank", Cato Institute, funded by Koch Industries brothers who have a war on Obama going as well as having interests in the insurance business and pretty much own the patent on the processes of fracking and the present form of refining crude oil into gasoline. So, while they have the right-wing propaganda machine (Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, and the entire Fox News team) spouting nonsense about birth certificates, gay marriage, abortion, birth control, the war on Christmas, women's equality (they are against it), women's reproductive health (they don't understand it), and the fascist commie socialist liberal people who are ruining this country and taking away their right to be the white majority and live in a way which makes them think they have gained
some superiority for acting like an idiot. The main problem is that some of these idiots have voters who live in non-mainstream small communities where the population still is as non-diverse as it was in the 1950s and because of that these ill-informed supremacy clingers are scared that something has changed and like an ostrich with it's head in the sand, they don't dare venture out into other places in the world so they can continue to tell themselves that society is controlled by them.
Someday this country might eventually get shed of the corporatists that are the actual problem. While all the misdirection from the Right Wing "talk show" and fake news organizations is in a full "goose stepping" song and dance mode that would make the Rockettes green with envy, the real problem is that we are NOT switching from fossil fuels and going green like we need to AND we are remaining in full tilt boogie "income inequality syndrome" while they cut unemployment benefits, creating what Republicans call less unemployed. Along with the fact that some people will never get hired because they sent out their "god's will" factor into the communities telling HR departments not to hire anyone who was unemployed for over six months (the very people who needed work
the most) and then (another grand plan we didn't see coming) while they are grandstanding over punishing poor people, denying disabled veterans help they need, etc. - they decide that isn't enough, so they refuse to raise the minimum wage.
Let me say my peace on that one. A strong economy means a strong middle class. As Robert Reich the actual economist (not a Wall Street speculator like the GOP props up and tries to call economists) who teaches Economics for a living after studying it most of his life, says, "The real answer, I think, is they and their patrons want unemploy- ment to remain high and job-growth to sputter.
Why? Three reasons:
1) First, high unemployment keeps wages down. Workers who are worried about losing their jobs settle for whatever they can get — which is why hourly earnings keep dropping. The median wage is now 4 percent lower than it was at the start of the recovery. Low wages help boost corporate profits, thereby keeping the regressives’ corporate sponsors happy.
2) Second, high unemployment fuels the bull market on Wall Street. That’s because the Fed is committed to buying long-term bonds as long as unemployment remains high. This keeps bond yields low and pushes investors into equities — which helps boosts executive pay and Wall Street commissions, thereby keeping regressives’ financial sponsors happy.
3) Third, high unemployment keeps most Americans economically fearful and financially insecure. This sets them up to believe regressive lies — that their biggest worry should be that “big government” will tax away the little they have and give it to “undeserving” minorities; that they should support low taxes on corporations and wealthy “job creators;” and that new immigrants threaten their jobs.
It’s important for Obama and the Democrats to recognize this cynical strategy for what it is, and help the rest of America to see it.
And to counter with three basic truths:
A) First, the real job creators are consumers, and if average people don’t have jobs or good wages this economy can’t have a vigorous recovery.
B) Second, the rich would do better with a smaller share of a rapidly-growing economy than their current big share of an economy that’s hardly moving.
C) Third, therefore everyone would benefit from higher taxes on the wealthy to finance public investments in roads, bridges, public transit, better schools, affordable higher education, and healthcare — all of which will help the middle class and the poor, and generate more and better jobs."
And the bottom line for ALL working class people is that since the consumer is the actual job creator, then we need to raise the minimum wage so people can purchase things they need and things they want for themselves and their families.
Get ready for minimum wage to be the big fight in the 2014 midterm elections because the Republicans, like their rich corporate benefactor puppet masters tell them to, are NOT GOING TO BUDGE on the minimum wage, which will cost them the election.
Unlimited greed will be obvious to anyone who has even the minimal critical thinking skills. When Kentucky and Texas gubernatorial elections fall to the Democrats like Wendy Davis and Allison Lundergan Grimes, then the rest will start folding. Women who are concerned about humanity will see that voting for authoritarian fascists who use unwitting dumbasses to picket for them, is not going
to do anything but set women back to pre-1950s era social status and that isn't good for any of them.
The true dead head brain deads like Rick "Niggerhead" Perry and Mitch "chinless b**ch" McConnell will be exposed for the ignorance feigning liars and greedy corrupt anti-Americans that they are.
If people like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders continue to speak out about the corruption and non compassionate spending cuts to the social safety net to save the money from our taxes to spend on their own personal slush funds (Defense Spending and Tax Cuts) which they sacrifice Education, Health Care, and Financial Opportunity that so many good administrations have used to pull the nation out of the hole the GOP led us into to begin with, then it should remain obvious to the public that politicians and their bankster friends who keep ripping us off are the problem.
The other 2 reasons that the GOP does not want the people they are already screwing to have a decent living or any living at all, is that they fuel our volunteer army with people who financially have no other choice and if everyone that voted Democratically had a good paying job and was happy during the Obama administration, then they look like what they are, liars who have failed at
governing every time they have been in office.
Please remember that not raising the minimum wage and not allowing job growth is not an accident or something that is because of some "god's will" or force of nature, it is a contrived conspiracy to weaken the people of the United States' resolve against the Republican Party. They think the more they treat us like slaves, then, we will develop some form of "Stockholm Syndrome" and will start liking them more and bending to all their wishes, including voting them back into the White House. If I had my way, no one in congress who has been there for the past 5 economic downturns (while congress let the Wall Street banks rip us off and then gave them bail outs and bonuses), like John McCain, for instance, wouldn't be able to even run for dog catcher." ~ Arizona Mildman (Steve Walker)

Friday, December 27, 2013

When I read headlines in national syndications like the Huffington Post that say things like "The Quiet Death Of Long-Term Unemployment Insurance In 2013" ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/26/unemployment-insurance-2013_n_4504867.html ) then I am saddened. The fact that the entire party calls people like Rand Paul a pinhead, while caving in to any demand he makes and goes the way of (votes for) his pinhead thinking, is sad. ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/08/rand-paul-unemployment-benefits_n_4408046.html )\
When politicians KNOW that their constituents say things to the press like the article which says, "Unemployment Benefits Can Be 'The Difference Between Making It And Not Making It' ", then we should all be sad. Saddened by the fact that someone in our nation's legislative branch is either stupid or uninformed to the point that it makes us believe, honestly, that they are delusional. I don't say that as an insult, because I know the true definition of the word.
Delusional in the dictionary is defined like this:
"de·lu·sion·al [dih-loo-zhuh-nl] adjective
1. having false or unrealistic beliefs or opinions
2. maintaining fixed false beliefs even when confronted with facts, usually as a result of mental illness "
The quote from Einstein concerning trying to fix our problems using the same methods with which we created them, has become the driving force behind the Republican Party. The other quote I love from Einstein is the description of insanity, "Doing the same thing repeatedly, while each time expecting a different result.", is the biggest methodology of Republicans who call themselves conservatives, which is, in itself a lie.
Someone who wants to go backwards in life is not a person who is trying to "preserve necessary and traditional values", they then want to preserve values that are personal to them, no matter how unenlightened and uninformed they are, which are also not something the majority of people with critical thinking skills (who can think like an adult should be able to) want to see happen, much less want to see instituted as an indoctrination of others. That I think, it the error of the idea of free speech. Treason and all traitorous acts can be seen as "free speech" by the corrupted. People who have proven that they don't have the thinking skills to figure out how to not live like an enlightened human being don't need everyone to "be fair with them" or "honor their right to their opinion" when it infringes on the rights of others, in my opinion.
They need, I believe, to be told once and for all to SHUT THE FUCK UP and let the adults make the decisions. I am a firm believer in the quote from Isaac Asimov that says, "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' " Isaac Asimov

Have a nice day, and I truly mean that for everyone, including the uninformed,
Arizona Mildman

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Today will be an easy post. My latest issue is TED CRUZ is misinformed because he doesn't read his email, for one thing. He doesn't listen to anyone but himself in the mirror for opinion, because, after all, as his dad keeps saying, he is the second coming of Christ. (We can only hope they are really wrong and that Christ didn't turn from the wandering Jew who was a religious reformer, teacher, and basically a wandering monk type of spiritual philanthropist who believed and founded the basis for what we now know as "altruism" (from dictionary.com, "...the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others (opposed to egoism )."
"...

noreply@cruz.senate.gov

2:18 AM (7 hours ago)

United States SenateWashington, DC 20510

Dear Steven,

Thank you very much for contacting my office earlier this year. And, what a tremendously busy year it has been – one in which we have addressed numerous issues important to Texas and our nation. In addition, we have spent substantial time and effort setting up our new Senate offices in Washington and throughout the state.

While I wasn’t able to respond at the time of your initial contact, I’m writing now to convey how much I appreciate your correspondence and to let you know my staff has reviewed each and every letter we have been sent. We received well-over one million pieces of mail this year, which led to delayed responses as we set up our offices and mail system.

Your input is an important part of my ability to best represent Texans. Thank you again for your correspondence and please feel free to reach out to my office again through our new website,www.cruz.senate.gov - especially if you have a question that you believe is still relevant and timely or if there is anything at all with which my office can assist you.

It is truly an honor to represent you and all Texans in the United States Senate.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas, happy holidays and a prosperous new year.

This proves only one thing to me and that is that no one read what I wrote, they just pumped out yet one more of probably thousands of NO REPLY form emails so they don't have to actually listen to constituents, or they would not have referred to me as a "Texan". Have a nice day, folks. Later, Arizona Mildman

Sunday, December 22, 2013

'Tis the season to be merry, fight with each other over parking, sales items, popular kids toys, crowds in line at every mall store, and people who buy themselves clothes, sleep apparel, bathrobes, etc. I made the mistake of going into KMart today, after going to breakfast and morning study with my friend Steve L. Mostly we (both of us are Western style Buddhists) discuss a) the way the nation's politics are going in comparison to the eightfold path, b) who said the stupidest thing this week on the news, and c) art projects either of us are working on, including writing. Today we discussed lots of things including conservatism and the American Taliban leaders like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum that only want to control us. That is why they want to replace the constitution with the bigleYesterday I answered a question on the atheist forum at about.com. The question was, "Do you think most atheists become liberal?"
You can read my response at : http://atheism.about.com/u/ua/Atheist-Agnostic-Belief-Survey/Why-Atheists-Agnostics-Liberal.htm , but the gist of it was that I don't believe that Atheists become liberal, I believe that if you are open to new things (as is the definition of liberal http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal?s=t ), then, (as Buddhist teachings discuss, calling it attachment to views) you would become atheistic. This might confuse some people because I talk about being Buddhist, but Buddhism is an atheistic religion that doesn't say that you aren't allowed to believe in a higher power but it has nothing to do with the study of the religion. I believe that most people who are "liberal minded" (favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.) people eventually learn enough about science to know that some things in the bible are physically (literally in terms of physics) impossible and were supposed to be a parable to teach us a lesson about how to treat other people and we can only assume that people that take every piece of literature which is based on bronze age mythology (like every religion is), then you have to not take it all literally. If you have ever met someone who takes the bible or any other religious text literally, then you know what I have experienced with some people. They are self deluded and resistant to any form of education about the truth.
Now, the other thing that came up and this is very important is that Steve feels that they Military Industrial Complex, via the Pentagon, have become like a fourth branch of government so they can control the money in Washington, D.C. He pointed out that our recent spying done by the NSA is all part of the situation. The reason being that now the NSA is like a branch of the Pentagon. Why is that? This is their new supervisor.
I looked him up on Wikipedia and found this information: "...Keith Brian Alexander (born December 2, 1951) is a four-star general in the United States Army who currently serves as Director of the National Security Agency(DIRNSA), Chief of the Central Security Service (CHCSS) and Commander of the United States Cyber Command. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2, U.S. Army from 2003 to 2005. He assumed the positions of Director, National Security Agency and Chief, Central Security Service on August 1, 2005 and the additional duties as Commander, United States Cyber Command on May 21, 2010.On 16 October 2013, it was announced that General Alexander, and his Deputy John C. Inglis, were leaving the NSA. This announcement came on the heels of four months of NSA spying revelations spawned by press-leaks made by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. "
This is not something that inspires confidence in the U.S. military and the government police agencies. We recently found out that the NSA is reading every email and listening to ever phone call in the USA but hasn't thwarted a single solitary terrorist attack. They originally tried to say they could name one but that turned out to be a humbug so they dropped it. I don't care what party you are in, this should be a concern. The military industrial complex isn't supposed to be in charge of the largest, most secretive government police agency in the country, but now they are. This gives way too much influence to the defense department that we need to slim down and the reason it has gotten to be such a huge mega-monster of financial waste is "because they can" because no one wants to be scrutinized by the NSA.
Imagine if we, as centrists that the regressives call "liberals" acted shamefully suspicious about this information and fed it to the paranoids in the Tea Party, the Libertarian Party, CATO institute, Freedom Works, and the Koch brothers. If we sell it to them as a tool to "blame Obama" for, they would accidentally expose all those warhawks and their cronies that they keep voting for.
Are you ready to start some real shit? Start going on the Tea Party Patriots and American Libertarian sites and handing them this information. Let's send it to Fox News and the entire News Troll circuit (Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Alex Jones, etc.) so they can have themselves a merry little New Year of Obama hate while exposing the one thing we don't want in our government. Who's with me?

Monday, December 16, 2013

People frequently refer to a court case that Fox won, which essentially gives the media the right to lie.

This came from an appellate court decision that states that the FCC’s news distortion policy does not qualify as a rule, law, or regulation.

From Wikipedia:Jane Akre and her husband Steve Wilson are former employees of Fox owned-and- operated station WTVT in Tampa, Florida. In 1997, they were fired from the station after refusing to knowingly include false information in their report concerning the Monsanto Company’s production of RBGH, a drug designed to make cows produce more milk. They successfully sued under Florida’s whistle blower law and were awarded a US $425,000 settlement by jury decision. However, Fox appealed to an appellate court and won, after the court declared that the FCC policy against falsification that Fox violated was just a policy and not a “law, rule, or regulation”, and so the whistle blower law did not apply.The court agreed with WTVT’s (Fox) argument “that the FCC’s policy against the intentional falsification of the news — which the FCC has called its “news distortion policy” — does not qualify as the required “law, rule, or regulation” under section 448.102.[...] Because the FCC’s news distortion policy is not a “law, rule, or regulation” under section 448.102, Akre has failed to state a claim under the whistle-blower’s statute.”In 2001, Jane Akre and her husband won the Goldman Environmental Prize as a recognition for their report on RBGH. In 2004, Fox filed a US$1.7 million counter-suit against Akre and Wilson for trial fees and costs. Akre and Wilson both appear in a major portion of the 2004/5 critical documentary, "The Corporation".In 2007 Jane became the editor-in-chief of the national news desk at InjuryBoard.com.From FoxBGHSuit.com:Fox appealed and prevailed February 14, 2003 when an appeals court issued a ruling reversing the jury, accepting a defense argument that had been rejected by three other judges on at least six separate occasions…The whistle-blowing journalists, twice refused Fox offers of big-money deals to keep quiet about what they knew, filed their landmark lawsuit April 2, 1998 and survived three Fox efforts to have their case summarily dismissed. It is the first time journalists have used a whistleblower law to seek a legal remedy for being fired by for refusing to distort the news. Steve and Jane are now considering an appeal to the Florida state Supreme Court.From CeaseSpin.com:Appellate Court Rules Media Can Legally Lie.By Mike Gaddy. Published Feb. 28, 2003The court did not dispute the heart of Akre’s claim, that Fox pressured her to broadcast a false story to protect the broadcaster from having to defend the truth in court, as well as suffer the ire of irate advertisers. Fox argued from the first, and failed on three separate occasions, in front of three different judges, to have the case tossed out on the grounds there is no hard, fast, and written rule against deliberate distortion of the news.The attorneys for Fox, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, argued the First Amendment gives broadcasters the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on the public airwaves. In its six-page written decision, the Court of Appeals held that the Federal Communications Commission position against news distortion is only a “policy,”not a promulgated law, rule, or regulation. Fox aired a report after the ruling saying it was “totally vindicated” by the verdict.

Monday, December 2, 2013

I heard someone again today use the words "ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION" and this is an oxymoron. I will explain why. First let's look at the definition of the word illegal.il·le·gal[ih-lee-guhl]adjective1. forbidden by law or statute.2. contrary to or forbidden by official rules,regulations, etc.: The referee ruled that it was an illegal forward pass.noun3. Informal. illegal alien.

You notice what the third definition is, and the fact that it says, 'Informal' meaning it isn't really the proper use of the word but lots of people say it that way.

Now, let's look at the word immigrant.

im·mi·grant [im-i-gruhnt]noun1. a person who migrates to another country,usually for permanent residence.2. an organism found in a new habitat.

adjective3. of or pertaining to immigrants and immigration: a department for immigrant affairs.4. immigrating.

People who come illegally to the United States are not immigrating (coming to become permanent residents) not because they are not welcome or are not interrested in escaping Mexico, they come here to work but are NOT interested in trying to become Americans, adopt our language and adopt our culture to fit in. Most come here to take advantage of financial opportunities not available in Mexico and then to return to their homeland to live in luxury compared to most Mexicans of the working class.

I have also heard them called Undocumented Aliens as if they were the Italian /Siclians who came here centuries ago, With Out Papers, which is where the nickname "WOP" came from. But they entered through the port authority legally. These people didn't lose their documents/papers, they came here illegally. They and anyone who supports their movement into the United States legally is also felons.

The argument is, The Law Sucks.

Okay, then change the law, don't just break the law and whine about it when you get caught.

Black and white. Don't break the law.This is another example of what people like to call "liberal".

I am called a liberal for wanting progressive change in our country and not listening to Republican propaganda which is in simple terms, not opinion, but bald faced lies. That doesn't make me "liberal". That is the center, facts and logic, not opinion based on lies and wishful thinking.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

"Speaker Boehner, you just led the House to vote in favor of H. Res 1965. This bill forces the federal government to allocate a massive amount of land to oil drilling, and forces the government to automatically approve oil drilling projects and charges $5,000 to anyone who protests against oil drilling. Let me explain a few things to you.

1) This bill is patently unconstitutional. "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech..." That is the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Maybe you haven't read that far? You CANNOT charge for protest. Your failure to dismiss this bill out of hand on free speech ground is a shocking dereliction of duty as an elected representative sworn to uphold the Constitution.

2) You work for US, We The People of the United States. You DO NOT work for the corporations, no matter how much they might bankroll you and your caucus. Your attempt to place the US government in a subservient role to the greed of oil corporations, allowing them to destroy American land and liberty is smoking-gun evidence that you are not representing the people, you are representing a secretive, blood sucking aristocracy. In trying to midwife this corporate oil coup, you are as great a threat to our government and democracy as any foreign enemy.

3) You are inept at your job. This bill will never be signed into law, and the SCOTUS could never uphold it if it were. Why vote in favor of it? You do realize that despite the gerrymandering, the Citizens United tsunami of bankrolled GOP campaigns, the Hastert Rule, etc., that, at the end of the day, we still vote. No matter how much you jury-rig the system, you still have to put on a show of trying to do the work of the voters. With this vote, you drip with the slime of oil and reek with the stench of corruption. You no longer even pretend to work for the people. You have turned the House of Representatives into the Whore House of Corporate Influence. With this vote, you are only slathering ruby red lipstick all over your face and hiking up your skirts for the oil lobby. You are not a representative. You are a filthy whore."

Copied with permission of the author, Marc Belisle on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/deMARCracy

About Me

I am an Arizona native, born and raised in Phoenix, although I have lived for brief times in other places. I am what one would call a Centrist. I don't believe in radical left or right stances and refuse to let the low information, regressive, right wing people call me "liberal" since that would be left of reality based on opinion, and I believe in facts and research of evidence.